Me again, and not sure if this is the correct forum for the post so appologies if not. Would i be correct in thinking that at this moment in time i don't need to apply fir a visa or the new ETA (Electronic Travel Authority) to enter the Philippines as a British citizen? And would i also be correct in thinking that there is NO MANDATORY VACCINE... Like NOT ANY type of vaccine for ANY reason to enter the Philippines? Are they all just recomendations?
No visa required. No vaccines required... just recommends. You do need to complete the online ETA thing though.
Great thanks. I hardly ever fly so had totally overlooked the vaccine thing. Not meaning to doubt you Phil as i was under the impression an ETA was required from the previous times i'd looked stuff up re travelling to Philippines.....however i find it confusing because.... it say's on the website i was reading first say's UK citizens need to fill out the ETA online, then in the following text states it's only available for Taiwaneese citizens at present and that UK citizens do not need it at this time.......am i reading that wrong or just not understanding something? It wouldn't be the first time. Here is the text from that page... " Philippines Visa>Visa Requirements>British Traveling to the Philippines From the UK Entry Requirements for the Philippines From the United Kingdom Visa Application New entry requirements for the Philippines: UK travelers need to complete the One-Stop electronic Travel Declaration system (originally the One Health Pass) to enter the Philippines.You can apply here. The Philippine Government is committed to making travel easier and more accessible to international tourists and has recently introduced measures with this purpose in mind. ThePhilippine government offers different types of visasfor UK citizens seeking to visit the country. Thesevisas fall under two categories: Immigrant Non-immigrant permits Travelers are encouraged to look through the different categories/sub-categories to see if they will be required to obtain a Philippines visa from the UK prior to visiting. In the case of traveling to the Philippines as a tourist,there is now an easier way to obtain a permit for the country. The Philippine Government has launched an online Philippines eTA visa waiver application. This allows eligible foreigners to apply for aPhilippine eTA visa waiverfrom their homes or offices instead of having to visit a local embassy or consulate. The travel authorization is currently only available for citizens of Taiwan. British citizens traveling to the Philippines Brits should be aware that before boarding the plane to the Philippines, they will be required to show a ticket of onward or return travel from the country of origin. In fact, some airlines can refuse to board a passenger if they don’t have a ticket or can suggest that the passenger purchase it there and then before they can continue with the onboarding process. Otherthings Brits should keep in mind while traveling to the Philippinesinclude the local customs regulations. Certain items, like alcohol and tobacco, can be imported in limited amounts. Others, like firearms and weapons, are prohibited. Do British Citizens Need an eTA for the Philippines? British citizens are allowedvisa-free entry into the Philippines for a stay of up to 30 dayswithout the need to have an approved visa or travel authorization. At the moment, aPhilippines ETA for UK citizens is not required, as the electronic authorization system is only available for Taiwanese nationals. However, the program maybe expanded to British citizens in the future. In cases where a British national is aware that they will have to stay for aperiod of more than 30 days, they may have to acquire a visa prior to traveling to the country. In other cases,British travelers can obtain an extensionto their stay in the Philippines if they arrive on a visa-free basis but decide to stay longer. However, foreigners are usually charged extra for this. Philippines eTA visa waiver requirements from the UK In the event that a UK visitor needs to apply for an eTA visa waiver once the program is expanded, the Philippine Government has setcertain criteria that must be met by all applicants. The requirements are as follows: Having apassportwith minimum validity of at least 6 months after they leave the country Returnflight tickets Hotelbookings Cashor debit/credit cards It is also worth noting that all travelers to the Philippines (including Brits) will have to go through a customs check at the port of entry, where they will be expected to clear security questions. Incoming passengers may also be asked to provide certain travel documents and aprinted copy of their Philippine visa(if applicable). Philippines eTA application procedure from the United Kingdom It is expected that the process of obtaining an eTA tourist permit for the Philippines from the United Kingdom will be very simple. Applicants will need to go to the Philippines online application website andfill out the eTA application form from the United Kingdom. It will then be necessary to fill in basicpersonal information and passport data, and provide a current email address. The applicant will also need to providedebit/credit card details to pay the ETA fee. Once the form has been submitted,the applicant will be assigned a Unique Identification Number (UID). In group applications, the UID will be issued to the main applicant of the eTA authorizations. The traveler(s) will also be charged a processing fee upon submission of the eTA request. It will be important to check that all of the fields on the eTA application have been filled out correctly. This is because even small differences between the details of the applicant’s travel documents and the data provided on the form can affect the validity of the eTA visa waiver. As a result, the eTA holder could be prevented from entering the country. In case the questionnaire presents incorrect or lacking information, the applicant will have to fill out a new form. If the form has already been completed and the traveler needs to update the information provided, they can make the necessary changes bycontacting the Philippine eTA application websiteand providing their UID. So am i being thick or is that like contradicting itself?
You get a visa waiver of 30 days when you arrive in the Philippines you have to leave within 30 days with the day you arrive being day zero, if you want to stay longer you can extend your visa waiver on the day of arrival to 59 days after you pass the immigration desk by going back up to level 3 at NAIA Terminal 3 and applying at the new 24x7 BI Outpost on that floor it's on the left hand side of the airport when outside and facing Terminal 3. At NAIA Terminal 1 arrivals you can extend at the BI Office prior to the immigration desk, still on the left hand side I believe before the desks. No vaccine requirement but it can help to be fully vaccinated. If you don't extend at the airport on the day of arrival there are a few outpost offices around the Capital one of them is down in Alabang in the Crimson Hotel Alabang, nightmare getting there and back. The eTravel online process has to be completed for everyone.
Philippine Travel Information System this is the official site and YOU MUST complete or you will be standing airside of the immigration desks trying to fill it in using your phone while roaming, I've personally seen foreigners being knocked back and forced to do this on my last two trips. I can just imagine the ruinous roaming data charges those people incurred.
Thanks so much guys. Your all saving me so much of a headache, i can get quite stressed out with all this stuff so i can't tell you how much i appreciate the help.
You're not being thick the Filipino love confuse ordinary people - the answer is in the first couple of sentences: UK travelers need to complete the One-Stop electronic Travel Declaration system (originally the One Health Pass) to enter the Philippines.You can apply here. All the rest is bollox
At the passport check queue on Friday I was in this long long line and then a lad managing the queue directed me to the side, I looked quizzical but complied went round the corner and now it was the x-ray machine and not the passport control, freaked out for a moment and then located the passport desks way far in the distance A foreign lassie appears behind me quite concerned asking "excuse me have you been through passport control?" I had a short chat and a laugh with her explaining that this was the Philippines and they had probably realised they didn't have capacity on the existing lanes they had built at Terminal 3 but didn't want to move the cheap passport control booths so they just built a few x-ray lanes on the ground they had available prior to the passport control booths. They will cobble together any solution for anything arse end forwards, in this case it saved me maybe 10 or 15 minutes so it was a win.
Hi Oss, thanks for this useful info. How easy is it to get a visa on arrival at Terminal 3? Can I check in to my flight from UK to Mla if the return date on my ticket is beyond 30 days? Thank you.
Q1. I'd say it was 6/10 ... signposts aren't Phils strongest suit... so you may have to ask a few times to find the 24/7 Immigration Office, looks like this: It's around here, the red circle marked under construction: Thank the Japanese for the map. And it's walk in, wasn't very busy when I was there last year. q2. Yes you can.
No you must have an exit date inside the 30 days when you arrive at NAIA. People buy a cheap throwaway ticket, Manila to anywhere, to get round this. I have this exact issue next time I travel, I want to stay for more than 2 months, changing my KLM flight will definitely be expensive so I will buy a throwaway on Cebu Pacific or AirAsia or the likes. I've not done the visa waiver extension at T3 myself yet, however I have visited that office in T3 and it will be simple enough, I've done this at T1 many many years ago it can take an hour or more depends on how busy they are. At the Alabang BI Office it took about 40 minutes I was lucky I was the first customer the day I went.
Am I missing the point here @oss ? Can I check in to my flight from UK to Mla if the return date on my ticket is beyond 30 days? When I did my last visa run I'm sure the exit (throwaway for me) was beyond 30 days... not that I got asked for it?
Thats a misleading map as it's as viewed from Departures perspective. On arrival you will be on a lower floor and you need to pick up your bags before you attempt to do any of this. From the outside of NAIA Terminal 3 enter door 7 at departures level this is the only door where you don't need a ticket to be allowed in. Enter door 7 walk to the right turn left at the corner walk about 70 metres then turn left again (pretty sure it is on the departures floor which is what that map shows) Getting back up from Arrivals to Departures level is something I personally still have to figure out next trip.
I've checked this several times recently as I was concerned about it, every check I make says you must be in compliance with your visa waiver status, you would think that the regulation states that you must simply have a return but in just having a return with a long future date you are assuming that you will be granted the waiver extension. I don't know, last trip on Feb 5 they didn't check my ticket but they have the eTravel declaration now and that is indexed by passport number so when they scan your passport they get the eTravel details confirmed on their screen if you haven't done the eTravel you are in trouble at that point and the eTravel has a declaration of your exit date. I would not be surprised if they cross check the eTravel details with the airline passenger manifests so they would see a missmatch in your declaration now.
Approx location of door 7 on this map, there is some ongoing construction at the BI area but not related to the BI office itself.
Also in my reply above I missed the precise point of your question, every time I've flown out of the UK the check-in desk has calculated the number of days between my arrival and my return ticket's departure date, they will not let you board if you don't meet the visa waiver conditions because they, the airline, get fined by the Philippine government, the throwaway ticket with another airline is also to prove to them that you are leaving the Philippines on time and that they won't get fined. edit: Some people do slip through the checks that's why they always announce to people arriving that if they only have a oneway ticket they must report to the desk before immigration.
I was wondering about that too! when I was a tourist I used to visit the Ph for 2 or 3 months and have a return ticket for 2 or 3 months, as long you have a return ticket or a throw-away ticket you are covered.
At Glasgow airport with KLM and with Manchester on both KLM and Emirates I've been delayed while they tried to work out if my return date was (in the old days) 21 days later or 22 days later, and now 30 days or 31 days, sometimes the check-in agent gets confused about which day is day 1 and you have to explain to them that the day you arrive is Day Zero and it counts from there. They were going to refuse me boarding if I had got the count wrong. Were you married at that time Jim and flying with your wife? If you were then they probably realised you would have Balikbayan privilege on arrival? I've also seen people in front of me in the queue at Glasgow told to go off and get an exit ticket from an airline desk, obviously that's expensive if you are standing in an airport at that time, alternatively they would have had to change their flight to return earlier and then change it again after they arrived in the Philippines which is even more expensive.
